Concussion research gets financial boost
Funding for concussion research has been scant, in part because the seriousness of the injury and long-term health implications were not well known.
But that is changing.
As the number of athletes diagnosed posthumously with brain damage increases and the sheer enormity of the issue at every level grows in scope, so does the funding.
Medically speaking, concussions are a mystery. Researchers who measure impacts do not know why some of the greatest forces do not cause concussions while their lesser-impact counterparts do.
They cannot predict who will suffer long-term effects and who will skate through with a headache for a few days and return to play in fine shape.
Nor can they account for apparent differences in adult and youth injuries and healing times. Or why girls suffer concussions at a higher rate than boys, and according to one study, exhibit slightly different symptoms.
The ability to "see" concussion-related changes in the brain is also evolving. The standard CT scan and MRI hold little value for the athlete in the emergency room, resulting in negative results most of the time. But scientists are making headway with more spohisticated diagostic methods such as fMRI, PET, and SPECT scans. Anyone who has had a concussion knows things are scrambled even if the changes aren't visible on anyone's radar just yet.
Research takes both time and money.
What has been studied so far, brains of former NFL and NHL players who had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), innovative diagnostic techniques, imaging methods, all types of equipment, and various aspects of impact science has led us where we are today. The seriousness of the issue can no longer be denied.
This week the Canadian government announced its "Active and Safe" campaign that will provide $1.5M in funding for education efforts designed to reduce concussions and other brain injuries in children and youth who play team sports.
A few days later, the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) awarded more than $845,000 in new research to advance the science of sports medicine related to concussion and head injury, and approved second year funding for existing concussion research grants in the amount of $1,000,00 for research grants recommended by the Scientific Advisory Committee.
NOCSAE is an independent and nonprofit standard-setting body with the sole mission to enhance athletic safety through scientific research and the creation of performance standards for protective equipment.
During the winter board meeting, NOCSAE approved new research grants to study:
"Effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on acute treatment of sport-related traumatic brain injury," led by Jason P. Mihalik, Ph.D., at the Department of Exercise and Sport Science's Matthew A. Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at the University of North Carolina
"Head accelerations from various stick checks in girls lacrosse," led by Joseph "Trey" Crisco, Ph.D., professor of orthopedics at Brown University
"Influence of concussion education on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among youth athletes, coaches and parents," led by Johna K. Register-Mihalik, Ph.D., of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, and Curriculum in Human Movement Science at the University of North Carolina
"Concussion assessment in high school athletes - learning disability, history, GPA," led by Tamerah N. Hunt, Ph.D., ATC, Assistant Professor of Clinical Allied Medical Professions, The Ohio State University
"Assessment of structural and metabolic brain changes in concussion," led by Daniel Osherson, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Princeton University
"Investment in research provides the foundation of our mission to protect athletes," said Mike Oliver, NOCSAE executive director.
Source: Canadian government to help sports groups fight concussions - Washington Post
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